OCZ Vendetta

OCZ Vendetta

UK Price (as reviewed): £18.82 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $27.18 (ex. Tax)

CPU Socket Support: AMD 940 / 939 / 754 / AM2 / AM2+, Intel LGA 775
Weight: 563g (with fan)
Size: 97 (W) x 79 (H) x 134mm (D)

Fan Size: 92mm
Fan Speed: 1200-2800RPM
Fan Air Flow: 39-54.6 CFM
Noise Level: 22-34 dBA
Bearing type: Ball Bearing

There's something about the name Vendetta that shouts "War on Terror" - it's a pretty flashy name and it’s as if the heatsink has been told to fight an enemy you can rarely quantify. Whatever the case, the Vendetta’s design is similar to what we've seen before – heatpipes drawing the heat from the base up into an array of aluminium fins.

However, as we’ve come to expect from OCZ these days, the company has its own innovative take on this concept. The Vendetta has some clearly well designed niche features that should give it the edge over some of its competition. While it’s not quite as inexpensive as the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro or Cooler Master Hyper TX2, it is around the same size as those two competitors – so the question is, what does it offer for £8 more?


For starters, the box and packaging are extremely substantial – the heatsink and fan are properly secured between end to end foam. You'd literally have to attack it with a hammer to break it while it is packed in its box. The rest of the box includes:

• Mounting brackets for Intel LGA775
  
• Retention bracket for AMD sockets
  
• Manual
  
• 3-pin to 4-pin power adapter
  
• Silicon thermal paste
  
• Rubber fan mounts

The manual is excellent – it’s very clear, has lots of large pictures and is easy to understand. The only disappointing feature is the really basic, single use silicon paste that’s included – no premium tube stuff here.

The Heatsink

The heatsink itself is much smaller than we're used to, but it still manages to cram three copper heatpipes and dozens of aluminium fins into its compact design. Every fin has pitted dots that increase the surface area and increase the turbulence of air passing over the fins, making its potential to cool much better. The unit is very solidly built and thankfully the fins aren’t sharp at all – I could literally press hard with my thumb and draw it across them without the skin splitting. For a change this makes installation nice and easy, rather than akin to juggling with swords.